Machine foe



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. M. PARSONS, OF CASTLETON, VERMONT.

MACHINE FOR CUTTING SHINGLES.

4Speccaton of Letters Patent No. 1,099, dated March 12, 1839.

T0 aZZ 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LUDLAM M. PARSONS, of Castleton, in the county ofRutland and State of Vermont, have invented a new and useful Improvementin Machines for Cutting Shingles; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full and eXact description.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction o-f a vibrating`panel or frontispiece to be placed directly below the knife and is madeto turn or vibrate on center pins, so as to accommodate the thicknessand give a wedged Shape shingle and reverse lts ends at every revolutionof the knife.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

I construct an upright frame A about six feet high and two feet wide onthe inside by two posts with cap and sill to support them secure. I thenconstruct a sliding frame or sash b not unlike a common saw gate for asaw mill two feet and four inches wide and four feet long, which isplaced in grooves c c on the inside of said upright frame, so as toslide up and down in said grooves. On the face of this sliding frame Iplace the knife Z in an oblique direction across the frame, so as togive a drawing stroke when cutting, and secure the same by the bolts C Cat each end. Directly above the knife is thebar f tenoned in to theslides Z2 b and pin a, so as to make it secure, and is even or true withthe face of the knife and making part of the sliding frame so as not toadmit the block to move after the shingle is cut. Directly back of theknife is the bar r, Figures 2 and 3, framed into the slides b b, ofsuiiicient distance from the knife to allow the shingles to pass whencutting, and directly below the bar 1 is the vibrating panel g, alsomaking part of said sliding frame, which vibrates on pivots in itscenter, one at top, secured by bar r, and one at the bottom, secured bybar Zt, which is framed into the slides Z) Z), and makes a part of saidsliding gate. I place a girth or gage s back side of panel g, fastenedat each end by bolts and screws to the slides Z9 b, so as to limit thevibration of the panel g to the intended thickness of a shingle. Thisvibrating panel g is at liberty to change or vibrate on its pivots, soas to regulate the thickness and give the shingle its proper shape bychanging alternately with the motion of the machine and reverse the buttor thick end of the shingle at each successive revolution of the gate.Directly in front of said sliding frame I construct a horizontal table iabout three feet high or nearly in the center of said upright frame andmaking part of the same, on which I place my block, after having beenboiled or steamed for cutting, and on the top of said table, at eachend, I place the guards K K to secure and keep in place the follower Z,which brings the block to the knife by means of cords m, m, Fig. 3,which are fastened to the follower Z'and pass through the back part ofthe table and fasten to the levers n n. The levers n a are framed intothe upright posts a a and work on pins and are allowed sufficientdistance to raise up when the follower Z is drawn back by the lever 0 toreceive ya block for cutting shingles, the levers fn, a, which aregoverned by the attendant of the machine, in this manner, by bearingdown upon the levers n fn., the cords m m, draw the follower Z andblock, when the gate is up against the panel g. The gate or slidingframe now being put in motion downward fetches the knife in contact withthe block and cuts its shingle, the gate after moving upward againsuiiicient distance to allow the knife to clear the block, so as toadmit the block to be draw-'n against the panel g by the right handlever n, and move or vibrate the panel g to the gage s, so as to form awedged shape shingle, at the same time to bear hard enough on the lefthand lever n to keep the surface of block to the panel and to changefrom right hand lever n to left hand lever n alternately with the motionof the machine. In the follower Z I have another lever 0 two-feet longwhich may be used in the following manner to vibrate the panel, viz, byworking the lever from right hand to the left, keeping the follower Zand block in contact with the panel and changing alternately with themotion of the machine.

This machine may be operated by hand or other power.

What I claim as my invention and wish to secure by Letters Patent is-The vibrating panel in combination with the knife as herein describedfor cutting shingles.

LUDLAM M. PARSONS. Witnesses:

JAMES S. HARRIS, J. M. HUTWELL.

